


For Now

by ren_galileo



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Family Bonding, Human Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb), Kind of Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Self-Indulgent, Texan drug lords (mentioned), mostly just "can i sleep here", perry is #1 stepdad to vanessa, sleepover party at DEI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:41:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27971765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ren_galileo/pseuds/ren_galileo
Summary: “Perry the Platypus? Isn’t it a little late for you to be thwarting me?” Blue eyes squinted at him, a bony hand over his chest as he recovered from the scare. Perry made a vague noise in agreement and tilted the desk lamp so Heinz could see his hands.“Can I crash here tonight?”
Relationships: Heinz Doofenshmirtz/Perry the Platypus, Vanessa Doofenshmirtz & Perry the Platypus
Comments: 10
Kudos: 174





	For Now

**Author's Note:**

> My main frustration with this is I don't know ASL beyond the alphabet and some basic signs, so grammatically, I can't make this very accurate. If anyone knows sign and would like to help me make the dialogue more realistic, I would love that! 
> 
> Comments and criticism are super super appreciated <3

The jetpack whirred softly as its flame petered out and landed Perry on the metal balcony of DEI. Thankfully, the roof was open, because Perry hadn’t wanted to use the stairs and he _really_ hadn’t wanted to smash another window tonight. Although, with all the overtime he’d been struggling through, he had more than enough cash to cough up for Heinz’s ceiling repairs.  


He squinted and took in the room. His eyesight was bad in the dark, so he always carried a pair of night vision goggles fitted snugly into his fedora. He stumbled forward until he found the reason the roof was still open: Heinz was working at his desk, hunched over large blue sheets of paper splashed in moonlight. A tiny desk lamp flickered in and out on top of the blueprints, functioning more as a paperweight than anything else. Perry threw an unimpressed look at his bad posture, though it was more out of habit than actual annoyance. Once he’d found out Heinz had titanium arms, it made more sense why his body sagged as if being weighed down, and Perry had stopped ribbing him to fix his posture.  


Perry swayed on his feet. He forced his sore legs forward, even though his body was telling him to pass out on the cold floor. He tried to clack his heels loudly to announce his presence, to be polite, although he was sure he would spook Heinz anyway. Years of explosions will do that to your eardrums. It had a silver lining for Perry; Heinz already knew sign language when Perry was assigned to him. It was still a long time before he ever signed to Heinz, as their quarrels didn’t require much communication and he tried to be professionally detached. Heinz was ecstatic when Perry signed to him for the first time. He’d tried to get Perry to have full conversations with him, but quickly realized that Perry’s tight-lipped attitude had little to do with his lack of a voice.  


About four feet away from the desk, Perry waved his arm to get Heinz’s attention and watched the scientist leap about a foot in the air with a shriek.  


“Perry the Platypus? Isn’t it a little late for you to be thwarting me?” Blue eyes squinted at him, a bony hand over his chest as he recovered from the scare. Perry made a vague noise in agreement and tilted the desk lamp so Heinz could see his hands.  


_“Can I crash here tonight?”_   


Heinz raised his eyebrows. “Well, sure, as long as you promise not to wake Vanessa.” His voice rose with glee. “She’s taking her driving test tomorrow. They grow up so fast, don’t they, Perry the Platypus? One minute you’re teaching her how to steal candy from other babies and the next she’s asking for a _car_.” Perry scrunched his face and nodded. He knew more about that than Heinz realized. “Why, though?”  


Used to Heinz’s rambling, Perry knew he was referring to his original question. Instead of responding, he grabbed the desk lamp again and tilted it up to show his face, wincing at the harsh light as he did so. He knew his face was smothered with bruises. He was sporting a black eye, if not two. His lip was split and still dribbling pearls of blood onto his chin every few minutes. He was in worse shape in other places, but his face was something he couldn’t easily hide from his family.  


Heinz started freaking out. “Perry the Platypus, your _face_! You’re _injured_! Don’t roll your eyes at me– yes, alright, I’m sure you knew that already. Let me get my first aid kit and a washcloth and maybe some tea–”  


Perry grabbed his arm and yanked him back from his attempts to run and get his first aid kit. _“I’m fine. O-W-C-A patched me up. Just need sleep.”_ His hands stalled in midair, unsure how to convey to Heinz that he couldn’t go home and he just really needed to get some sleep. _“Can’t go home. Please?”_  


Heinz sighed, but relaxed. “I already _told_ you, of course you can stay. Come on, let me set up the futon.” He continued talking as Perry followed him into the living room. “Don’t you live alone, though? I mean, I always just assumed you did. Do you live in an apartment and you’re worried about other people seeing you? Maybe your house is just really far away and you don’t want to fly tired. That’s very responsible, you know, Perry the Platypus. You should never fly tired and if you need me to pick you up, or if you need a place to crash, never hesitate to tell me.” He paused. “Wow, this sounds a lot like the speech I gave Vanessa earlier about drunk driving.” Guilt tugged at Perry as Heinz charged through his questions and assumptions without expecting a response. He had given up expecting Perry to open up about his life. He couldn’t, of course, confidentiality was of the utmost importance, but he always felt sorry to be so secretive when Heinz told him everything. He tried to ease his guilt by helping Heinz set up his bed. He knew where the spare sheets were, having slept at DEI more than once before, but never had he just shown up out of the blue and asked to stay.  


Perry tried not to think about it. Moral dilemmas about his questionable professionalism around Heinz gave him a headache.  


Once the bed was set up they settled at the kitchen bar for tea. Heinz had questions, as usual, and Perry felt obligated to answer to the best of his ability.  


“This can’t be the first time this has happened, right? Where do you usually go instead of home?”  


Perry stopped nursing his oolong tea to respond. _“Hotel.”_  


“Why didn’t you do that, then? Not that I’m saying you should have– I like having you here, I mean, it’s fine–” Perry waved to cut him off and reassure him.  


_“Prefer not to be alone.”_ It was embarrassing, but it was the truth. Sleeping in hotels made him tense, like he needed to be on guard. The random noises from other rooms kept him up at night. Sleeping somewhere familiar kept him much more at ease, and he _really_ needed quality sleep right now.  


Heinz didn’t seem to believe him, if his expression was anything to go by. “Perry the I-work-alone-apus doesn’t like being alone when he’s sleeping?”  


Perry shrugged. Thankfully, Heinz gave up on that line of questioning.  


“Okay, well, can you tell me why you’re all beat up?” He cast Perry a suspicious look. “You weren’t with another nemesis, were you?”  


Perry glared at him. As if he’d want to put Heinz through the awful feeling of being replaced. They’d put that behind them, but Perry was still bitter whenever he had to think about it. _“No. Out-of-state teamup. Not a nemesis, they weren’t even scientists.”_ He figured he could be honest about that. They were Texan drug lords, and very predictable. Perry hesitated to describe them as “boring” though, mostly due to the gunshot wounds he’d narrowly avoided.  


“Okay, sheesh, I’m sorry. Man, Monogram sure has been running you ragged lately. Aren’t you exhausted?”  


Perry didn’t have to talk to convey “Yes, I am, which is why I am here to sleep for the next twenty-four hours.” He said it with his face. The eye bags probably helped his point.  


Heinz got the hint and swooped up their cups as Perry went to find his spare pajamas. Well, “pajamas” was a stretch, it was just a blue t-shirt and gray sweatpants he kept at DEI in case of impromptu sleepovers. He shot a text to Linda that he was still out of town for another day, so the family wouldn’t worry when he was still gone come morning.  


He changed in the living room, pretending not to notice Heinz sneaking glances at him. Perry sagged onto the futon, stretching the soreness out of his arms.  


“Do you need anything else, Perry the Platypus?” Perry smiled, trying to look grateful as he shook his head. He just wanted to sleep for a few days. No doubt he’d wake up to his watch beeping, but he at least hoped Monogram would let him sleep in past 6. “Alright then, goodnight.” Perry waved goodnight, but Heinz didn’t leave, hovering in the living room like he had more to say. Perry raised his eyebrows in question, but the scientist only offered him a weak smile and another “goodnight” before hurrying off to his bedroom.  


Perry huffed. Heinz could be so cagey, but it usually wasn’t long before he broke and said what was on his mind. Maybe he just didn’t want to bother the exhausted agent anymore. Perry barely had time to be grateful for that before sleep overtook him.

***

To Perry’s delight, he didn’t wake up to the insistent beeping of his watch. It seemed his body woke up on its own terms. His eyes opened slowly, still caked with sleep. He lifted an arm to rub at them, noting happily that the soreness in his arms had receded to a dull ache.  


“Look who’s returned to the world of the living.” Perry rolled to his side, glad his contacts were overnight-safe so he could still see. Vanessa was propped up against the kitchen bar, a mug in her hands, grinning down at him. He halfheartedly waved. “You know, I’m supposed to be a teenager who sleeps all the time, but you have definitely broken my record.”  


Was it late? Perry brought his watch up to his face. Half past noon. Definitely not _his_ record; he was used to making up for multiple days without sleep by marathon sleeping. He slept so long his family invented the term “marathon sleeping” for when he passed out for sixteen hours at a time.  


“Tea? Dad is out shopping for some desperately needed groceries, he thought you might want to stay for dinner?” Perry scrambled to sit up and nodded vigorously to both questions. Now that he was rested, he realized how starving he was. Vanessa seemed to catch on. “Before he left he made you soup– no meat. It’s still on the stove, keeping warm ‘cause he didn’t know when you’d be up.” As she spoke, he rose from the bed and smiled at the mug being pressed into his hands. Vanessa scooped two bowls of soup from the pot, turned the stove off, and perched on the barstool next to Perry.  


“So, bad night?” Perry grimaced and nodded. “Dad said it wasn’t him, but wouldn’t tell me what happened…” She peered at him over her mug. He smiled. It wouldn’t do any harm to explain to her.  


_“Texan drug cartel. I have a crowbar to thank for my face.”_   


Vanessa whistled. “Ouch.”  


Perry shrugged. _“Could’ve been a bullet,”_ he admitted with a sheepish look. Vanessa frowned.  


“I’m so used to you fighting Dad, I forget how dangerous your job can actually be. Monty never breathes a word about his missions, either, and I’ve never seen him looking beat up like that.” She said the last part quietly, although Heinz was gone. Perry reluctantly kept her relationship with the younger Monogram a secret. He only did it because _someone_ should be keeping an eye on her, and he didn’t want Vanessa to feel like she had to keep secrets from him like she did with her dad. Although, Perry had tried to convince her that Heinz would take it well if she just got it over with and told him. He speculated that the secrecy had more to do with Major Monogram, and on that, Perry agreed that he would overreact. His boss had a very black and white view of good and evil, so although Vanessa didn’t do anything wrong, he still associated her with Heinz’s evil tendencies. Perry had to battle many attempts at surveillance, tracking, or otherwise interference in Vanessa’s life by OWCA. Thankfully he always won those battles, since Vanessa was a minor with a spotless record.  


“Don’t give me that look. I’m not telling Dad unless it gets serious. He worries about me enough.” Perry rolled his eyes but acquiesced.  


They ate their soup while Vanessa chatted with him; first about Monty, then her friends, then school. Heinz returned as she was venting to him about her English class. Perry patted her arm, assuring that he’d help with her homework to the best of his ability. He was never brilliant in his academics, but English had always been his favorite. He still read a lot of books when he wasn’t busy getting shot at.  


“I’m home! Perry, consider your tea restocked! I even got you this weird herbal-y blend that I think you’ll like. It has a beaver on it. Not exactly a platypus, but not _everything_ has to be about your codename.” Rich, coming from the guy who made everything about his codename and exclusively referred to him as Perry the Platypus. “Vanessa, I got that macaroni you like with the little dinosaurs on them, and the dinosaur facts on the back. Did you know that the Stegosaurus is Colorado’s state dinosaur? I didn’t even know state dinosaurs were a thing.”  


Vanessa gave Perry a knowing look and smiled at her dad. “I liked those when I was, like, eight, dad.” She slid off the barstool and pecked her dad on the cheek. “Much as I’d love to help put the groceries away, I have to take my driving test.” Perry frowned at her, but the corner of his mouth twitched up. “See you both for dinner tonight.”  


Heinz stared after his daughter with big eyes at the mention of her driving test, but he whipped his head to stare at Perry after she mentioned dinner. “You’re staying?” The excitement in his voice was infectious, and it’s not like dinner was a big deal, but Perry was smiling with him anyway as he nodded. “Ooh, now I have the chance to try out these new vegetarian recipes. What do you want to eat? I got the stuff for mushroom burgers, burritos, lasagna– or we could make all of it! I put a new setting on my oven to cook foods at three different temperatures at once–” Perry’s eyes widened and he waved his arms to placate Heinz before settling his hands on top of the other man’s.  


His brows knitted in concern, patting the hands before releasing them to sign. _“Burritos are fine. Please no kitchen experiments.”_  


Heinz was grumbling about Perry’s lack of faith, but he dug tortilla shells out of a shopping bag (reusable, not very evil of him) and set them aside. He chatted while they unloaded the groceries. Apparently, a lady with only two items asked to go in front of Heinz in line (he had about two shopping carts worth of food), and Heinz felt very evil for refusing her. Perry thought that maybe he shouldn’t feel so fond about what an asshole his nemesis was.  


When the chatter died down, Perry glanced over at Heinz as he restocked the vegetable broth. He was picking at threads on his lab coat. Perry nudged him, and when he looked over, raised his eyebrows in question. “Perry the Platypus, I just wanted to, well, say, that, I guess, thank you?” He asked as if it was a question, looking hopefully at Perry, who kept his face neutral. Heinz pressed on. “For, you know, believing– knowing that– that I wouldn’t try to kill you in your sleep, or something.” His attention returned to his coat.  


Perry smiled and nudged him again. When Heinz was looking, he signed, _“Trust.”_  


“Yeah, yeah, that’s, yeah, exactly what I meant. Thanks for trusting me! You’re my closest friend, you know, Perry the Platypus.”  


Perry’s eyes crinkled and he smiled wider. _“You too.”_ He squeezed Heinz’s hand and let go after a bit too long, yet far too soon. For now, Perry was a spy with rules to follow and lives to keep separate. But someday, he hoped, Heinz would give up evil, or Perry would retire (he expected the former to be soon, while the latter… he wasn’t holding his breath). When that day came, he could finally tell Heinz he loved him. He could finally introduce him to his family and share his whole life story.  


But for now, he followed Heinz to the living room, and they sat a little too close while they watched bad soaps. For now, that was enough.


End file.
